People and Business

Flying south

Southwest Airlines this week begins offering service to two warm-weather countries out of Portland International Jetport. Flights starting Sept. 16 allow Southwest passengers to travel from Portland to Cancun, Mexico, and Montego Bay, Jamaica, via connections at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Connecting service is also scheduled to begin Nov. 1 from Portland to Aruba and to the Dominican Republic, and service to Nassau, Bahamas, is expected to begin at an unannounced date. In addition, the airline plans to resume nonstop service from Portland to Orlando, Florida, in March 2015. Orlando was the fourth-most popular destination for Portland air travelers last year, with nearly 80,000 passengers.

New Hires, Promotions and Appointments

Neena Kaur Singh has joined Portland Surgical Associates, a physician practice affiliated with Mercy Health System. Singh is a general surgeon who specializes in minimally invasive procedures. She earned her medical degree at Temple University, and performed her residency at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. She also completed a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery, robotics and bariatric surgery at the University of Arizona.

Portland-base law firm Verrill Dana recently added two attorneys to its intellectual property practice. Wayne Keown is a patent prosecutor with more than 25 years of experience, and knowledge of the pharmaceutical and medical technology fields. In addition to his law degree, he holds a Ph.D. in genetics. Rita Heimes rejoins Verrill Dana after serving as the associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Maine School of Law. There, she was also director of the Center for Law and Innovation and taught courses on trademark and copyright law.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage has named Jon Finch sales manager of the company’s Brunswick office. Finch will be responsible for day-to-day operations of roughly two dozen real estate professionals serving Brunswick and the mid-coast region. Prior to his new role, he served for nine years as a sales associate in the brokerage’s Saco office.

Ecomaine, which provides waste-to-energy and recycling services to 25 percent of Maine’s population, has promoted two employees. Winslow Pillsbury has been named a waste-to-energy facility shift supervisor, after joining ecomaine as a relief operator in 2012. Ryan St. Peter has been named relief operator. He started at Ecomaine in 2006, working most recently as a plant operator.

Karen M. Hart has joined the Portland law firm of LeBlanc & Young as its fiduciary services administrator. Hart is a graduate of the University of Maine, and earned a master’s degree in taxation at Thomas College. She has worked for over 25 years in public accounting.

Broadreach Public Relations, a Portland-based communications firm, has hired Dan D’Ippolito as production manager and Taylor Emhart as an apprentice. D’Ippolito previously worked as a marketing manager for Baxter Brewing Co. in Lewiston, and also was a communications coordinator for Brooklyn Brewery in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from New York University with a degree in psychology. Emhart is a recent graduate of the University of Maine, and completed a news internship at WLBZ-TV 2 in Bangor.

Recognition

Phil Coupe, co-founder and managing partner of Revision Energy, was honored by the state chapter of the Sierra Club at its annual award dinner Sept. 5. Coupe received a Business for the Environment Award for the Portland-based firm’s advocacy of solar energy in Maine.